Neutral Territory
by AliasCWN
Summary: Troy and Moffitt visit a town that is supposed to be neutral.
1. Chapter 1

**Neutral Territory**

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 1

Sam Troy climbed out of the jeep as his driver shut the engine off.

"You and Tully stay here; Moffitt and I will go into town and check things out."

"Right Serge." Hitchcock acknowledged as he popped a big bubble.

"You know what to do?"

"We got it Serge." The blond answered, glancing toward the other jeep.

"All right, we'll take this jeep; you and Tully can have the other one. Keep your eyes open and be extra careful." Troy reached for the machine gun on the driver's side fender and handed it to the blond. With a nod to Moffitt, who quickly left his jeep for the one Troy was driving; Troy motioned for Hitchcock to get out of the way.

Hitchcock vacated the driver's seat and stepped around to get the second machine gun as Troy slid into his place. Troy pressed the starter and hesitated just long enough to be sure that Moffitt was seated. The two sergeants headed for the nearest town, leaving the two privates to wait for their return. Both men glanced back once to see Hitch standing guard while Tully took a blanket and made himself comfortable under some scrawny trees next to a large boulder. The wadi was small but it hid the jeep extremely well. They had used this particular spot to camp on more than one occasion and Troy knew it was hard to see if you didn't know it was there.

Their destination was a fairly large town a few miles from the wadi. Located in no-man's land, both sides had declared it a neutral territory. As they got closer they began to spot numerous vehicles from both sides. The Allied vehicles they ignored, but both sergeants kept a careful tally of the German cars and trucks.

Soldiers from both sides walked the streets unarmed; it was against the rules to carry firearms in a neutral zone. Troy glanced at the empty holster for his machine gun and wished that he had it within reach. Moffitt saw him looking and smiled in understanding. Armed only with knives, they were at a distinctive disadvantage if the Germans decided to ignore the rules.

"Let's get a drink before we check out the town."

Moffitt nodded his agreement, his eyes scanning the streets out of habit.

As Troy drove he took note of the streets and intersections that they passed. He automatically counted the German troops and vehicles. With a touch of unease he noticed that some of the Germans were staring at them as they drove by.

"The guy in civilian clothing, standing in the doorway of the shop on our left." Troy muttered the warning under his breath to Moffitt. Both men pretended to be looking ahead while their eyes studied the man in question.

"Could be." Moffitt responded in a conversational tone without turning his head.

Troy sighed. "It didn't take them long to spot us."

"Did you expect to just drive in without being recognized?" The other sergeant's smile told Troy just how much he enjoyed the element of danger they were facing.

"I had hoped that we could at least get a drink before they found us."

Moffitt's snort of laughter made it clear that he had never considered that a possibility at all.

"Okay, so it was wishful thinking." Troy admitted with a crooked grin. "Let's get that drink anyway."

Moffitt's dark eyes crinkled at the corners with amusement but he chose to remain silent and agree with a simple nod.

Troy found a place to park the jeep on the street near the tea house that served alcoholic drinks to 'non-believers'. Both sergeants climbed out of the jeep and began knocking the dust off their clothing. While Moffitt watched the street, Troy discreetly reached under the seat and pulled out a flat yellow envelope. With a quick glance around, he tucked it under his shirt and smoothed the material over the bulge.

"I'll be right back; I need to make a stop at the latrine before we go in." Troy called across the jeep to Moffitt in a voice a bit louder than necessary. Moffitt nodded and sat on the jeep's fender to wait for his return.

Darting between the buildings, Troy hurried toward the latrines. He paused near them, at a wall of crumbling stone, and ducked behind it. Kneeling, he pulled the envelope from beneath his shirt and hid it under some loose rock. A quick look around and he resumed his journey to the latrine. Once inside, he peered through the crack in the door, checking for movement near the wall. Satisfied with the results, he waited a few minutes before he rejoined Moffitt.

The British sergeant was still sitting on the fender when he returned. Troy gave him a barely discernable nod before turning from the jeep toward the tea house. Moffitt slid to the ground and followed him into the building.

The poorly lit interior was downright gloomy after the bright afternoon sunlight. The music, an Arabic tune with a fast beat, was loud after the quiet of the street. Troy let his eyes wander to the twirling bodies of the dancers as they spun and gyrated for the entertainment of the customers. A tap on his shoulder beckoned him to follow Moffitt as a waiter showed them to a table. Moffitt ordered for both of them as Troy turned once again to watch the dancers. The two men sat in silence enjoying the show until their drinks arrived.

"Don't look now, but our friend from the street just joined us." Troy kept his drink in front of his face as he whispered to Moffitt. Pretending to watch the dancers, Troy kept his eyes on the arrival.

The man from the street scanned the room until his eyes came to rest on the sergeants. Handing the waiter a tip, he spoke rapidly into this ear. The waiter nodded, took the offered money, and led the way to a table near the sergeants.

Troy leaned back with a half-smile on his face and ignored the newcomer.

They nursed their drinks, enjoying the coolness of the building after the long, hot jeep ride. Finished with the first one, Moffitt ordered a second round.

"Our friend doesn't look too happy."

Troy chanced a quick look after Moffitt's comment to see their 'shadow' frowning into his glass. The drink in front of him looked like it hadn't been touched. The sergeant looked away hurriedly as the other man raised his eyes.

"I guess we should go; Tully and Hitch will be starting to worry." Troy emptied his second drink much faster than his first. Moffitt followed his example and the two men got up and made their way to the door.


	2. Chapter 2

**Neutral Territory**

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 2

The sun was lower in the sky as Troy and Moffitt stepped out into the street. Troy glanced around, letting his eyes adjust after the dimness of the interior of the building. There were soldiers from both sides strolling along the narrow road, oblivious to their surroundings. As they walked back to their jeep, Troy let his eyes wander toward the alley leading to the latrines as if looking for someone.

He wasn't too surprised to see that the man who had followed them into the tea house had also followed them out. Without acknowledging the other man, Troy and Moffitt reclaimed their vehicle and headed out of town. Troy drove slowly, not wanting to hit any of the drunken soldiers who sometimes staggered into the streets in front of traffic. Once clear of the town he increased his speed, glancing behind him from time to time. He was looking behind them when Moffitt called a warning.

"Halftrack ahead Troy; it looks like they want us to stop."

Troy whipped his head around to see the German armored vehicle blocking the road. "We have someone behind us too."

Moffitt nodded, not taking his eyes off the halftrack in the road.

Troy slowed the jeep and stopped well clear of the heavier vehicle. He and Moffitt waited as five German soldiers rushed toward them, weapons in hand. A tall German officer stepped out from behind the halftrack and walked toward them.

Both sergeants watched as Hauptmann Hans Dietrich stalked toward them, his hands clasp behind his back. Neither man moved or offered to get out of the jeep.

"Good afternoon Sergeants."

Troy and Moffitt both nodded in return.

"Would you be so kind as to get out of the jeep?"

"Why Captain? This is neutral territory, you have no authority here." Troy watched the Captain closely, waiting to see what he would say.

"That's all true Sergeant, but I did ask nicely; if you prefer, we can do this the hard way."

"Well, since you ask nicely." Troy and Moffitt climbed out of the jeep to stand beside it. "What's this all about Captain?"

"There are rumors that you are carrying certain secret documents Sergeant. Spying is very serious business."

"True Captain. I don't know any spies personally, but I hear that they are very serious people. But it seems to me that if you know about these documents, they can't be very secret." The sergeant smiled at the officer as he mocked him.

Dietrich took a deep breath before he continued. "If you are caught with these materials, you could be shot as a spy Sergeant."

Troy flashed him another smile. "So I've been told Captain."

"Are you carrying any of these materials Sergeant?"

"Why Captain, what a thing to ask." Troy glanced over at Moffitt and then around at the German soldiers holding guns. "You know as well as I do that that would be extremely dangerous, especially under the present circumstances." Holding his arms out to his sides, he stood completely still. "Search me if you want Captain, I don't have anything to hide."

Dietrich frowned but he ordered his men to search both sergeants and their vehicle. While three of them kept them covered, the other two searched first them, then the jeep. Finished, they stepped back, empty handed.

"Satisfied Captain?" Troy lowered his hands and grinned at Dietrich. "I don't know where you got your information, but I hope that you didn't pay too much for it."

Dietrich was about to answer when another vehicle pulled up behind the jeep and stopped. Everyone turned to watch the occupants of the vehicle climb out.

The first one out was the man in civilian clothing who had been following them in town. He stared at both sergeants as he grilled Dietrich on what was happening. Troy could see the anger on his face as Dietrich explained what had transpired.

"Search them again!" He demanded in English after Dietrich had finished his explanation in German.

"We have searched them both…and we have searched their vehicle, they are not carrying anything of value." The Captain explained again.

"I beg your pardon." Moffitt interrupted. "I happen to have a very nice pair of ladies silk stockings among my possessions. Perhaps in peacetime they are of little value, but here and now they are very nearly priceless."

Dietrich threw him an exasperated look and then ignored him; Troy looked over at him and smiled.

"They must have it."

"We could not find anything even close to the description." Dietrich repeated.

"Take them back to the base, we can question them there." The man in civilian clothing ordered.

"We can't do that. This is neutral territory, we have no authority here."

"He's right, you know. You don't have any authority to take prisoners here." Troy agreed with Dietrich, risking the wrath of the other man who was almost certainly Gestapo.

The SS agent snarled, first at Troy, then at Dietrich. "Who is here to see us? Who will stop us?"

"Their superiors are aware that they were here. There will be a protest and it will undermine our trustworthiness as a nation. This is neutral territory; if we violate the agreement, what is stopping them from doing the same to us?"

Troy watched as Dietrich argued with the other man. It surprised him that the Captain would go to bat for them against the SS.

"Captain, our people can take their chances if that were to happen. We caught these men in the act of spying."

"You didn't catch us doing anything but visiting a neutral town for a drink." Troy argued. "Captain Dietrich already told you; he searched both of us and our jeep and found nothing. Now unless you have something else, we'll be on our way." Troy started to climb back into the jeep.

"Not so fast Sergeant." The SS man pointed a gun at Troy.

"Carrying a gun in neutral territory, shame on you. If you don't quit bothering us we're liable to report this to the proper authorities." Troy stared at the other man , daring him to argue.

"Captain, arrest these men."

"I wouldn't do that Captain." Troy warned Dietrich even as he continued to stare at the SS man.

"Who will stop us Sergeant?" The SS man asked with a leer.


	3. Chapter 3

**Neutral Territory**

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 3

Dietrich looked from Troy to the SS agent and back to the sergeant. Troy waited, expecting the Captain to order his arrest.

"They are free to go."

"What?"

"They are free to go; we have no grounds to hold them."

Troy smiled as the SS agent sputtered and tried to find the words to chastise the Captain.

"Good choice Captain." Troy and Moffitt climbed back into the jeep.

As the Germans watched, they pulled around the halftrack and continued down the road. Once clear of the Germans Troy slowed and gave a sharp whistle. He didn't look back to see what kind of reaction the Germans had to the appearance of the second jeep as it left its hiding place above the road and joined Troy. With Tully driving, Hitch kept the Germans covered with the 50 until they were well out of range.

Troy stayed at the wheel and kept them moving for several miles before he stopped so they could switch positions. Once he was sure that they were out of immediate danger, he pulled to a stop. Manning his own gun, he waited as Moffitt and Hitch traded jeeps.

"Did you get it Tully?"

"Yeah Serge, we got it."

Troy smiled as he looked back toward where they had left the Germans. "Then let's go home."

Tully led the way while Hitch kept his jeep close behind. Troy and Moffitt manned the guns and kept a constant search for the enemy. Troy expected the SS man to call the nearest base to report his suspicions and have them send someone out to capture the four men. Tully kept a steady pace while maintaining a course that kept them close to cover if they needed it.

Several times they spotted dust in the distance and had to detour to miss anyone who might be waiting for them. It was Moffitt who spotted the two specks in the sky coming out of the sun. He yelled a warning to Troy while leaning down to tap Tully on the shoulder.

The two drivers raced for the nearest wadi, looking for a place to hide the jeeps.

Glancing back, Troy tried to judge the amount of time they had before they were spotted. Making a decision, he sent Tully to enter the wadi from one end while he had Hitch enter from the other end. When the two jeeps met in the middle, he had them back into a small cut in the hill. Jumping out, he erased the jeep tracks from where they met to where they were parked. Hitch and Tully covered them with the camouflage nets as Moffitt kept watch on the planes. Now Troy hoped that it looked like one vehicle drove in to the wadi from one end and drove out the other end. Hopefully the pilots would think that someone had checked out the wadi and found nothing.

As they hid under the nets and waited, Troy marveled, not for the first time, at how the sun and the sand could make it next to impossible to see something from the sky when it would be clearly visible from the ground. He knew that the shadows would have to be just right on the tracks for the pilots to spot them at all.

Once, while still new to the desert, he had missed some tracks because of the position of the sun; it had nearly cost him his life. Now, more experienced, he was careful not to repeat his earlier mistakes. Now he didn't take any chances that could be avoided where the safety of his men was concerned.

Sweat ran down his face as he gripped the edge of the camo net, ready to tear it free and run. If the planes spotted them, he knew he may only get one chance to drag it free and get the jeep clear. He glanced over at the others, noting that they were ready to run or hide, whichever proved necessary.

Tully and Hitch were once more behind the wheels of their respective jeeps. They were needed to help cover the small vehicles, but if the need arose to run, it was essential that they be ready to hit the starters and get the jeeps away. Troy could see Moffitt gripping the edge of his net with white knuckles. One quick pull and the nets would fall free as the little vehicles darted out of hiding to try to dodge the planes. There would be a rush of motion as the sergeants dropped the nets and jumped for their 50's. Then it would be a mad dash to avoid the front guns of the planes or the fat bombs that they dropped.

The drone of the engines drew closer as the pilots searched the desert beneath them. One of them must have spotted the tracks because Troy could distinctly hear the change in sound as the plane began to circle and drop toward the wadi. Troy would later swear that not a man among them was breathing at that point. Each one held his breath and froze, afraid that any movement would be spotted and give them away.

The plane made a wide circle and started to climb; it looked like he was going to rejoin his wingman. Troy let out a breath and then froze again; the plane was suddenly dropping again, coming around for another pass.

"Moffitt!"

"I heard." The calm reply from the other sergeant was both reassuring and yet disturbing. "I'm ready whenever you give the word."

"Maybe he hasn't seen us; maybe he's just being overly cautious."

Moffitt didn't reply, he was concentrating on the plane, listening to the sound of the engine.

Troy checked on his driver, glancing at the youth. The blond was bent over his steering wheel with one hand gripping the wheel and the other hand hovering over the starter. Troy smiled as he heard a pop as the young soldier blew a bubble with his ever present bubble gum.

The Stukas' engine began to whine as the little plane dove at the wadi. Troy tensed to yank on the netting. The pilot opened fire with the twin guns mounted on the nose of his aircraft. Twin lines of dust rose in front of the low flying plane, following the tracks of the jeeps. Troy almost tore the net free before he realized that the bullets were not aimed at them. With a start, Troy realized that the pilot was just shooting for the sake of shooting; he wasn't suspicious and he hadn't spotted them. He glanced over and met Moffitt's amused smile and managed to laugh at himself for almost over-reacting. He smiled wider when he saw Hitch reach down and turn the engine off; he wasn't the only one who had thought that they were toast.

The pilot climbed and rejoined the second plane. Troy listened as they resumed their slow search of the empty desert.

"Let's grab something to eat and drink while the engines cool down." Troy ducked further under the net and sat between the jeeps. "That should give them time to clear out of this area."

"That was bit closer than I like." Moffitt said as he sat next to Troy.

"Yeah." Troy answered, not admitting to his own nervousness.

"I actually started to pull on the net before I realized that they weren't shooting at us; very nearly gave us away." The Brit admitted sheepishly.

With a sympathetic grunt, Troy kept his own reaction to himself.


	4. Chapter 4

**Neutral Territory**

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 4

"So everything went as planned?"

"Yes Sir." Troy glanced at Moffitt as he answered Captain Boggs. "Tully and Hitch picked up the package at the wadi after we drew the watchers away. The spies followed us, thinking that they were just waiting for us. I dropped off my packet where I was told to leave it; one of the SS officers picked it up as soon as I was out of sight."

"You're sure that they fell for our story about the courier being killed in a plane crash before he could return with the packet?"

Troy shook his head. "I can't say for sure Sir. They never mentioned the courier; they did search us to see if we had anything on us."

"Then they may suspect that the story is a lie?" The Captain searched the faces of the men before him, looking for confirmation one way or the other.

"I think they would have searched us either way." Moffitt joined the conversation. "They were going to take us prisoner even though we weren't carrying anything."

"So they knew that you picked up a packet?"

"I think that they were just being cautious Sir. Dietrich left us go because he knew he didn't have any grounds to hold us."

"Not exactly true." Troy added. "They knew I dropped off the packet; they watched me do it. They could have used that as an excuse to hold us."

"Then why did they let you go Sergeant?"

Troy smiled at the Captain. "Because if they used that as an excuse to hold us, they would have had to admit that they had the packet. They think it gives them an advantage if we don't know they found it."

"So maybe they did buy our story. They'll try to use that information against us."

"And they won't know that it's all false until it's too late to pull their troops back. They'll fall right into our trap and we'll have them surrounded and outnumbered." Troy finished the Captains' thoughts out loud.

The Captain smiled, suddenly in a better mood. "And Pettigrew and Hitchcock found the packet right where it was supposed to be?"

"Yes, Sir. Tully spread a blanket over it and picked it up with the blanket. Even if they were watching, he never uncovered it; he picked it up when he picked up the blanket."

"Do you think that they watching them?"

"No Sir. They were able to get above Dietrich and his men while they were waiting for us. I don't think that they had any idea that they were there until they showed themselves. I don't think that they would have searched us if they had known they were there."

"Very well Sergeant, well done. If this works out we'll be able to claim another sector or two with a minimum loss of life. The Germans will be outnumbered and surrounded; they may even surrender without a fight. A few more operations like this one and we'll have the Germans whittled down to nothing around here."

"I wouldn't count too strongly on that Captain; the Germans aren't stupid, they'll figure it out sooner or later."

"The later the better Sergeant. You and your men have earned a break, why don't you take a few days of leave?"

Troy laughed. "And go where Captain?" He shared an amused look with Moffitt. "I have a feeling that neutral territory is not going to be safe for us any time in the foreseeable future."


End file.
